The present invention relates to motor driven wheelchair for disabled persons. More specifically, the invention relates to a motor driven wheelchair that is convertible from a front wheel drive wheelchair into a rear wheel drive wheelchair and vice versa.
One of the options available to physically impaired persons is the powered wheelchair. The powered wheelchair offers increased mobility and convenience to these individuals. Two basic types of powered wheelchairs are the rear wheel drive type and the front wheel drive type. Each of these types of wheelchairs offers certain advantages and disadvantages.
A rear wheel drive wheelchair is typically easier to steer that a front wheel drive wheelchair. In other words, a rear wheel drive wheelchair is much easier to steer in a straight line. Also, it is generally understood that rear wheel drive wheelchairs are safer to operate at higher speeds, as compared to front wheel drive wheelchairs. These attributes make the rear wheel drive wheelchair more suitable for use in outdoor-type settings.
A front wheel drive wheelchair, on the other hand, is typically easier to maneuver in tight surroundings. A front wheel drive wheelchair has a smaller turning radius than a comparable rear wheel drive wheelchair. Thus, a front wheel drive wheelchair is typically preferred for indoor use. Purchasers of powered wheelchairs have heretofore selected, at the time of purchase, a wheelchair having the drive wheels best suited for their needs. This requires a wheelchair purchaser to elect at the time of purchase either a wheelchair that is best used either indoors or outdoors.
To accommodate the desires of different purchasers, the retailer of these wheelchairs will typically stock both front wheel and rear wheel drive wheelchairs. When a customer is shopping, he or she may then be shown a front wheel drive wheelchair and a rear wheel drive wheelchair, and will be allowed to select which of the two wheelchairs "feels" the best and seems best suited to the customer's needs. This practice requires the dealer to stock and display both types of wheelchairs which occupy a large amount of space and which are costly to keep in stock.
A powered wheelchair is therefore needed that is convertible, by the retailer or wheelchair customer, from a front wheel drive wheelchair to a rear wheel drive wheelchair. If the wheelchair is then configured for front wheel drive, and the customer would prefer a rear wheel drive wheelchair, the retailer or wheelchair customer could convert the wheelchair to a rear wheel drive configuration.